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Fruits
- Capsules 2.0-2.5 mm long, broadly obconic to nearly globose, the surface with 8 or 9 prominent longitudinal ribs, dehiscing by a terminal slit developing between the styles. Seeds 0.6-0.8 mm long, oblong ellipsoid, more or less tapered at each end, the surface with several longitudinal ribs, brown, shiny.

Fruits.

Flowering
- May - June.

Habitat
- Forests, streambanks, shaded bluffs.

Origin
- Native to the U.S.

Lookalikes
- None.

Other info.
- This plant is found in the southeastern half of Missouri and throughout much of the eastern U.S. It is rare northwest of a diagonal line between the southwest corner of the state and the St. Louis region, and this line also partially demarcates the U.S. range. When in flower the plant is easy to recognize, with a few sterile but showy pseudo-flowers lending a characteristic appearance to the inflorescence. Plants bred for inflorescences consisting entirely of these sterile flowers are popular in landscaping and horticulture, known by names such as "snowball bush" or "bigleaf hydrangea." The large, showy petalloid sepals respond to soil pH by adjusting their color. Plants grown in acidic soils have blue inflorescences, whereas neutral or alkaline soils lead to pink inflorescences. The color-pH relationship is opposite to that of litmus. The color dependence is not a result of simple indicator chemistry but rather reflects the availability of free trivalent aluminum ions in the soil, which is greater at low (acidic) pH.

Wild type
Hydrangea arborescens
favors moist, shaded bluffs, often growing out of vertical banks. The roots contain a compound called hydrangin, aka 7-hydroxycoumarin, which has been used in sunscreens. The roots and rhizomes have also been used as a diuretic and to treat urinary tract disorders.

Numerous infraspecific forms have been described. Currently, ssp.
arborescens
and ssp.
discolor
are recognized in Missouri. These differ in the degree of pubescence on the leaf undersides.

Photographs taken near Stegal Mountain, Shannon County, MO., 6-21-03, and at Alley Spring, MO., 6-12-04 (DETenaglia); also at Weldon Spring Conservation Area, St. Charles County, MO, 6-23-2007, Fox Creek, St. Louis County, MO, 8-14-2010, Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park, Reynolds County, MO, 6-20-2011, and near Boles, Franklin County, MO, 6-16-2016 (SRTurner).

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